United Kingdom (UK)
United States (US)
Canada
South Africa
India
Australia
New Zealand
China
Russia
Germany
France
Spain
Netherlands
Vietnam
United Arab Emirates
Italy
Poland
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Algeria
Charter statusIn forceLast reviewed7 August 2026Reviewed byIan O’Sullivan, FounderNext scheduled reviewFebruary 2027Version2.1
Every year, thousands of people use teflinstitute.com to decide whether to train as an English teacher, which qualification to choose, and where in the world to go. Those are serious decisions, so this page sets out the standards we hold ourselves to when we publish anything: who writes it, who checks it, and what you can expect from us when we get something wrong.
Who writes
The Writers Behind Our Guides
Articles on teflinstitute.com carry real bylines, and the named author wrote or substantially shaped the piece.
Ian O’SullivanFounderIan has spent more than two decades building TEFL training programmes and writes on certification, accreditation and industry trends.
Katie TroyManaging DirectorKatie holds a degree in education and has taught young learners in Zambia and Abu Dhabi. She writes on teaching careers and course choice.
Olivia KlimczykMarketing ExecutiveOlivia covers destination guides, student stories and the practical side of moving abroad to teach.
Tara BourkeMarketing ExecutiveA writer with a background in journalism, covering salary research, country comparisons and job market guides.
You can see the full team, including the academic and student support staff behind the scenes, at Meet the Team.
Who checks
Academic Review by Qualified Assessors
Content that describes teaching methodology, qualifications or course content is checked by the same academic team that assesses our students’ coursework.
Rachel HammondHead of AssessmentsDELTA qualified with a Master’s in Applied Linguistics, Rachel has taught English for over ten years across Spain, the UK, Romania, Italy and Switzerland.
Laura GrahamAssessorLaura has more than 15 years of TEFL experience across South America, China and Spain, teaching all ages and levels, including Cambridge exam classes.
Anya ShawAssessorCELTA and DELTA qualified, Anya has worked in English language teaching for over twenty years as a teacher, examiner, academic manager and CELTA and Trinity CertTESOL tutor.
Jessica JefferyRecruitment and PartnershipsTEFL and CELTA certified, Jessica taught in Italy and Thailand and works daily with the overseas schools and recruiters who hire our graduates. Job market and employer content draws on her desk.
How it works
How a Guide Earns Publication
Nothing goes live on teflinstitute.com just because it might rank well. Each guide moves through five stages.
- CommissionWe define the exact reader question the guide must answer and check our library so we improve existing content rather than duplicate it.
- SourceResearch starts with primary sources: government immigration portals, embassies, education ministries, awarding bodies and named employer requirements. Salary figures are verified against at least two independent sources.
- DraftThe named writer produces the guide, with data tables indicating when the figures were gathered and links to the sources of the claims.
- AssessA qualified reviewer from the academic or partnerships team checks factual claims, qualification descriptions and anything that could affect a reader’s legal or financial position.
- MaintainFast moving topics such as visas, salaries and hiring rules are scheduled for re-review. When a guide changes meaningfully, we update its “last updated” date. We never change dates without changing content. This charter itself is re-reviewed every six months, and the status strip at the top of this page carries the date of the last review.
The rules we keep
Standards We Hold Ourselves To
Regulated qualificationsAny claim that a course is “Level 5”, “Ofqual regulated” or “accredited” must match the official qualification specification and the awarding body’s records. The TEFL Institute is a Highfield Approved Centre (centre number 21335), and our regulated course pages are checked against Highfield’s published specifications, not marketing shorthand. Where a course is accredited rather than government regulated, we say so plainly, because the difference matters to employers and to you.
Live training, human standardsAlongside online study, our hybrid Level 5 diplomas include live teaching practice delivered over Zoom with real trainers and real feedback. Guides describing teaching practice are informed by the trainers who actually deliver those live sessions, and classroom advice is reviewed by people who teach, not just people who write.
Sourcing rulesWhere a guide makes a factual claim, a visa rule, a salary range or a qualification requirement, we link the source in the sentence or table where the claim appears, so you can verify it in one click. We prioritise official and primary sources, name the year the salary data was gathered and, when we compare TEFL providers, do so factually, based on published, checkable information.
Salaries, jobs and visasSalaries vary by city, employer, experience and timing, so we publish ranges with currency and year, never single guaranteed figures. Visa and immigration content is general guidance only: rules change quickly and vary by nationality, so always confirm with the relevant embassy or immigration authority. A TEFL qualification opens doors, but no course provider can guarantee a job, a salary or a visa, and we will never claim otherwise.
Student voicesWhen we quote student experiences, we quote them verbatim from independent review platforms. We do not edit reviews to make them more flattering, and we do not invent them. Graduate stories are presented as individual experiences, not typical outcomes.
Our use of AIWe use AI tools to support research, drafting and editing, and we say so openly. Every published guide is reviewed by a named member of our team, factual claims are verified against reliable sources rather than generated by an AI system, and accountability for what we publish rests with people, not tools.
One group, three sitesteflinstitute.com is part of The TEFL Institute Group (THE TEFL INSTITUTE LIMITED, registered in Ireland, company number 613324), which also operates TEFL.ie, our Irish market site, and tefl.ai, our free AI tools platform for English teachers. Where we link between our own sites, that relationship is exactly what it looks like: the same company.
CorrectionsIf you spot an error or something out of date, tell us via Contact Us. We review every correction request, fix confirmed issues and update the guide’s “last updated” date when we do.
The record
Recent Corrections and Updates
A standards page should show its work, not just describe it. These are the most recent dated changes across our published guides and desks, newest first.
| Date | Page | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Aug 2026 | The Paperwork Desk | Published. Every fee and processing time carries the date it was checked at the official source. |
| 7 Aug 2026 | Editorial Charter | This page redesigned. Wording about review platforms corrected to match our own naming rules. |
| 7 Aug 2026 | Salary, Online and Visa desks | Each desk given its own standing page. Duplicate FAQ markup removed from pages it did not belong on. |
| 6 Aug 2026 | The Hire Wire, Edition 1 | Job board rows linked directly to the relevant programme pages. |
| 5 Aug 2026 | The Hire Wire hub | Hub and Edition 1 published. |
This ledger is refreshed with each fortnightly edition of The Hire Wire. Corrections are printed in place on the page they belong to, never quietly deleted.
This charter in practiceThe Hire WireIf you want to see these standards at work rather than take our word for them, read The Hire Wire, our free briefing on TEFL hiring windows, salaries and visa notes, sent every two weeks. Every figure is traced to an official programme source, every deadline is real, and four standing desks are checked and corrected between editions, each carrying the date it was last verified.
Read The Hire Wire →Free, fortnightly, unsubscribe any time.
TIThese standards are set and personally enforced by our founder. Meet Ian O’Sullivan, founder of The TEFL Institute Group, and read how he sees the future of TEFL.
The information on teflinstitute.com is general guidance, not legal, immigration, financial or employment advice. Requirements and figures vary with individual circumstances, so verify important details with official sources such as government authorities, embassies and employers before acting. We are not responsible for the content or practices of third party websites referenced on this site.
